The Towers in the Park

Le Corbusier’s Dream

The St. James Town proposal drew heavily on Modernist architecture, particularly the work of Le Corbusier, also known as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (1887-1965). Le Corbusier was a Swiss-born architect and known largely for his “Towers in the Park” model of urban planning. Le Corbusier pointed to the 19th century as the source of many modern urban issues: crowded, narrow streets and dark Victorian buildings which offered minimal exposure to sun and fresh air. His “Towers in the Park” was intended to be a solution to these problems of pollution and overcrowding in cities. Large apartment towers surrounded by open green spaces would simultaneously provide dense urban housing while maintaining residents’ access to fresh air.

The Towers in the Park

A New Neighbourhood

The “Towers in the Park” model became popular during the mid-20th century and was adopted in numerous cities throughout the world, including Toronto’s St. James Town project in the 1960s. Many of the new towers in St. James Town were named after Canadian cities. The “Quebec” (730 Ontario Street) and “St. John’s” (700 Ontario Street)  were the first high-rises to be completed in the area.  At 14-storeys each, they introduced over 1,000 new apartments units.

Three other buildings followed, (99 Howard Street, 670 Parliament Street, and 135 Rose Avenue) with a combined 711 units. Over several decades, 21 residential towers were built in St. James Town, four public and 17 privately owned, within about 32 acres.

The Towers in the Park

Swinging Singles

As buildings were completed for the St. James Town project, managers hoped to appeal to a new generation of independent, working Torontonians. Some of the buildings boasted amenities geared towards urban singles, such as: parties, a ski club, and basement communal TV rooms. Other advertisements boasted an “adults only” community.

However, the design of St. James Town may have hindered community and connectivity. Le Corbusier’s idea for tall buildings amidst large green spaces isolated the neighbourhood, and made residents feel disconnected from the rest of the city. As a result of the numerous towers, many streets in St. James Town became dead-ends, often with no pedestrian pathways. As the desirability of the neighbourhood waned in the 1980s, crime increased. By the late 1980s, many residents of the St. James Town towers began to complain of derelict building maintenance and a lack of community space.

The Towers in the Park

Further Reading

-“$50 Million Complex Gets Board Approval”, The Globe and Mail (February 11, 1965), p. 5

-Alexi Marmot, “The Legacy of Le Corbusier and High-Rise Housing,” Built Environment, Vol 7, No 2 (1981), pp. 82-95